Many therapies have been explored for the treatment of allodynia, hyperalgesia, spontaneous pain and phantom pain with varying degree of success, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioids, anticonvulsants, anti-arrhythmics, tricyclic antidepressants and topical agents. Alternative approaches include anaesthetic blocks, epidural administration of steroids and neurosurgical lesions. However, all of the present therapies have modest efficacy in most patients and are palliative rather than curative and their side effects represent significant limitations.
Hence, there is a high unmet need for therapies that treat allodynia, hyperalgesia, spontaneous pain and phantom pain effectively, preferably with only minor side effects not affecting the general health of the patients.